The latest character to hit Coronation Street will be an
eco-warrior called Spider based on real-life anti-motorway protester
Swampy.

But while Swampy is best descibed as cheeky and loveable, Spider is
a real hunk.

Actor Martin Hancock, who plays him, is set to win a legion of
women fans when he pops up in two weeks as Emily Bishop's
dreadlocked great- nephew.

And Weatherfield wild child Toyah Battersby, played by Georgia
Taylor, will head the queue.

She even turns vegetarian to win Spider's heart after he moves
in with prim and proper Emily - Eileen Derbyshire - to replace Percy
Sugden. "He's a loveable rogue who will turn out to be a bit
of a handful for Emily," says a Granada TV insider.

Street producer Brian Park is so sure Londoner Martin, 25, will be
a hit he has given him a 12-month contract.

Scriptwriters dreamed up the Spider part after massive TV news
coverage earlier this year of the protest to stop a second runway at
Manchester Airport.